Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Ruger 44mag semi auto for deer

Anyone here use a Ruger semi auto 44mag Carbine for deer hunting? Opinions?

I have shot a few whitetails with a 1967 vintage 44 International. Works fine within the limits of the cartridge, I have always shot 240 grain JSP factory ammo in mine. The old Ruger .44 Automatics have a reputation for having feeding problems, so if possible, you may want to shoot one before you buy it. If you buy one and have problems with it, Bill and Henry at Rody's Gun Shop in Newport, NH, are wizards when it come to breathing new life into old Rugers.

RODY'S GUN SHOP
603-863-3356

i have hunted with 3 sense 1978 never had one jam or misfire if you keep it CLEAN IT IS A GOOD 150YARD GUN. I LIKE TO HUNT UP CLOSE AN PERSONELL

Scoped?

Mine had a Weaver K3 on it for the first 36 years and a Leupold Vari-X III 1.5-5x for the past 17 years.

Elmer liked it very much!!!!

Elmer loved the 44mag. You saying he loved the Ruger?

I remember he had one from Ruger.. He shot a 3 point I believe and his report was very favorable.. This was when this little rifle first appeared.. I never read anything about it afterwards.. I think he did like it if nothing else for the caliber!!

I don't remember if it was Elmer or Bill Ruger himself, but one of them took an early carbine to Africa and killed some sh*t with it.

A friend who's since passed on fed his family with one for decades ,whitetails and black bear up in the Adirondacks and he never lost a animal he hit ....I bought one in his memory but haven't had the chance to christen it yet ,I was surprised how accurate it is ,if you buy one I think you'll like it IMO

You can shoot a close deer with a rifle that shoots far, but you can't shoot a far deer with a rifle that shoots close. One year a gun guy buddy of mine showed up with a Ruger .44 magnum carbine and I still remember the look on his face when I said that I would make a drive for him and that he should cover the 300 yard open expanse where a deer might run out. That said within their working range a Ruger .44 carbine is very effective. On another hunting forum I asked the question what cartridge works better in the field than it's paper ballistics say that it should? There was a two way tie between the .44 Magnum and the .257 Roberts.

Bill Ruger took one of the early ones to Kenya, when you could still hunt Kenya. He had to disable the autoloading function and use it as a straight-pull boltgun, though, due to their laws.

Took one with a '66 sporter.
Big bead front sight (75 yard and in work) w peep.
65 yards, Norma 236gr factory ammo.
Hit shoulder/neck. Deer did a backflip and was DRT.

Trigger sucks but works. Need to mount a 2-7 or 4x on it.
Or just run it w peep and swap front to small gold bead.

Not my rifle, is my dad's............he said leave it alone, run it as is. So I did.
In a few yrs I;ll end up with it (buy, or inherit).........and it will get the front sight changed.
Because I'm gonna check the stock, bed if needed (to avoid cracking) and hunt it.

Love the ones I have... do not use them like I used to. Killed deer and hogs with them.

Wish had one again!

if your state allows it you would be better served with a mini 14 and 62 grain fusions or 64 grain WW softpoints, more reach, more deadly on deer. Even a stainless Mini 30 in 7.62x39 would be more reach and just as deadly.

Like this? 10/12/17 with my daughter at my side. Bang flop DRT.





The first deer I ever saw killed when I was a lil twerp was a forked horn my dad killed with his 44carbine. He shot it in the neck at about 50yds. It broke the neck so violently that it inverted the head and drove one antler into the ground. I hunt blacktails in the heart of Oregon's dense Willamette Valley and those rifles, although they have their limits, fill their niche very well. I'd like to get a chance to kill a bear with it someday soon too.

My Barber, used one for years till he Died! Loved that rifle, Killed alot of Bucks with it, I offered to buy it but they decided to keep it in the Family!

My sisters weapon of choice . She limits her shot distance , and shoots faster 180 gr loads . It wears a 1-4 Redfield , and oddly shoots MOA with the right load . It's the '76 bi-centennial ??? Model

I've loaned her a "proper deer rifle " a few times and she's killed with them but she always gave them back saying they didn't "hit" like the 44 .

I disagree. I've killed whitetails with all three cartridges and if given a choice between the three to use for still-hunting deer in tight cover, at or under 100 yards, I'd pick a Ruger 44 Carbine and the 44 Magnum cartridge over the 7.62x39 every time, over the 223 most of the time, and over the Mini 14/30 every time.